Processing of entertainment venue-based data utilizing wireless hand held devices

ABSTRACT

A hand held device and system for receiving venue-based data at the hand held device. A server is provided in association with one or more hand held devices that communicate with the server. The hand held device(s) receives the data at the hand held device through a wireless network. The data includes one or more video streams of one or more visual perspectives acquired from an entertainment venue and wherein the data is compiled by one or more venue-based data sources at the entertainment venue. A security unit can be provided for authorizing the hand held device to receive and process the data utilizing the security code. A processor is also provided for processing the data for display on a display screen associated with the hand held device. A display screen is associated with the display screen, wherein the display screen displays video of the visual perspective(s) as streaming video via the display screen in response to a user selection of the visual perspective(s) from the data processed for display on the display screen.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/498,415 entitled “Broadcasting Venue Data to a Wireless HandHeld Device,” filed on Aug. 2, 2006, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/708,776 entitled “Providing MultiplePerspectives for a Venue Activity Through an Electronic Hand HeldDevice,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, andwhich was filed on Nov. 8, 2000 and which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/243,561, which was filed on Oct. 26,2000. This patent application therefore traces its priority date to theOct. 26, 2000 filing date of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.60/243,561, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.This patent application is also a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/015,458, entitled “Wireless Transmission ofIn-Play Camera Views to Hand Held Devices,” which was filed on Dec. 13,2001 and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Thispatent application is also a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/887,492, entitled “Systems, Methods and Apparatuses forBrokering Data Between Wireless Devices and Data Rendering Devices,”which was filed on Jun. 22, 2001 and is incorporated herein by referencein its entirety. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/887,492 claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application, Ser. No. 60/214,339,entitled “Systems, Methods and Apparatuses for Brokering Data BetweenWireless Devices and Data Rendering Devices,” which was filed on Jun.27, 2000, and is also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments are related to wireless electronic hand held devices, suchas Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), hand held televisions, anddata-enabled wireless telephones. Embodiments are also related totechniques for remotely delivering video-related data to hand helddevices. In addition, Embodiments relates to techniques for providingincreased viewing opportunities for audiences in venue environments,such as stadiums and concert arenas. Additionally, embodiments relatedto wireless video data transmission to and from hand held devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Most modern stadiums and live entertainment facilities or arenas (hereinalso collectively referred to as “venues”), which feature sportingevents and concerts, typically employ large television screens thatreceive video images and are linked within the stadium to a plurality oftelevision cameras positioned to capture video images at diverselocations within the stadium. The audience at a typical sporting event,for example, can generally view advertisements, instant replays, andother sports related data on the large television screens within thesports stadium itself. Feeds are additionally generally provided fromthe cameras to announcers in a broadcast booth, replaying certain playsfrom the event so that the announcers and can make comments about plays,and finally transmitting a telecast to the viewing audience, includingsome aspects of captured video and data to the stadium audience.

Despite the availability of such large screen television monitors, venueevent audience members still lack enhanced viewing options orperspectives within the stadium itself. To compensate for the lack ofviewing options, sports and concert promoters often rent binoculars toaudience members prior to or during the event. Such binoculars canpermit the typical audience member to obtain a somewhat better, butlimited, view of the event, such as a football or hockey game, but eventhese views are often obstructed by other audience members and are tiedto only one perspective.

The large television screens placed in the stadium are typically linkedto cameras that are either fixed and mobile, the placement of thecameras about the stadium or venue are generally tied to an enterprisesystem. The movement of the game ball in a football game, for example,along with the players on the field is dynamic and unpredictable, andmay not always be caught by the active camera having the bestperspective. Thus, during a game, the large television screens typicallyprovide only one view, which can be obstructed further by other playersor officials, often destroying a critical angular view.

In addition, such large screens are often utilized to bombard audiencemembers with advertisements, thereby cutting into data such as instantreplays at a time when an audience member might otherwise wish to viewinstant replays, a current play or other event data. The audiencemembers, therefore, essentially view the large screen at the behest ofthe camera operator and cannot select their own views or camera angles.

Based on the foregoing, the present inventors have found that suchproblems in venue environments can be solved through the use of handheld devices, such as PDAs, data/video-enabled cellular telephones, andother hand held wireless video-enabled devices. For example, the recentshift in the consumer electronics industry from an emphasis on analogtechnology to a preference for digital technology is largely based onthe fact that the former generally limits the user to a role of apassive recipient of information, while the latter is interactive andallows the user to control what, when, and how he or she receives andmanipulates certain information. This shift in focus has resulted in thedevelopment and increasingly widespread use of a digital devicegenerically referred to as a “personal digital assistant” (PDA).

These devices are hand held computing devices (i.e., hereinafterreferred to as “hand held devices” or “handheld devices”) that arebecoming increasingly popular for storing and maintaining information.Although PDAs may be connected to a desktop personal computer or otherPDAs via infrared, direct wire, or wireless communication links, PDAsand similar hand held devices, can be linked to remote networks, such asthe internet, or local wireless resources, through available wirelesscommunications techniques.

The most advanced data- and video-enabled wireless communication devicescurrently available in the marketplace take the form of a PDA (such asthe Palm OS, Handspring OS, and Windows CE compatible hand heldcomputers). Unlike personal computers, which are general-purpose devicesgeared toward refining and processing information, PDAs are designed tocapture, store and display information originating from various sources.Additionally, while a certain level of skill is required to use apersonal computer effectively, PDAs are designed with the novice andnon-computer user in mind.

A typical PDA includes a microprocessor, memory unit, a display,associated encoder circuitry, and selector buttons. It may optionallycontain a clock and infrared emitter and receiver. A graphical userinterface permits a user to store, retrieve and manipulate data via aninteractive display. A PDA may also include a calendar, datebook, andone or more directories. The calendar shows a month of dates organizedas rows and columns in the usual form. The datebook shows one day at atime and contains alphanumeric text entered in free format (typically,with a time of day and an event and/or name). Each directory containsentries consisting of a name field and a free form alphanumeric textfield that can contain company names, addresses, telephone and faxnumbers, email addresses, etc.

Entries may be organized alphabetically according to the name field andcan be scanned or searched for by specifying a specific sequence ofcharacters in the name field. A menu displayed via the graphical userinterface permits a user to choose particular functions and directories.Most PDAs come equipped with a stylus, which is a plastic-tipped penthat a user utilizes to write in, for example, a “graffiti area” of thedisplay and tap particular graphically displayed icons. Each icon isindicative of a particular activity or function. Touch screeninterfaces, however, are also increasingly being implemented with PDAsto permit a user to activate software modules in the form of routinesand subroutines therein.

Attempts have been made to provide venue-based, interactiveentertainment to enhance the fan experience at live events. Suchattempts utilize touch-screen technology integrated directly into seatsat outdoor or indoor arenas. Such devices, however, due to theirintegration with the viewer seat, can be easily damaged by audiencemembers. Systems that incorporate such devices are also expensivebecause they literally require miles of cable.

Some recently constructed arenas, for example, that implement suchseat-integrated technology are requiring hundreds of miles of electroniccabling, including audiovisual, broadcast, and multiband lines. Such aplethora of large cables are expensive and require extra space, whichoften cannot be found in older stadiums, or would require a greaterexpense to integrate into newly built stadiums. The cost of retrofittingan older stadium with such technology can be staggering. Additionally,many fans who attend games or concerts with such technology integrateddirectly into the seats may find such a feature distracting.

Another problem faced by venue promoters and arena owners who integratefixed technology directly into the seat is that such technology canquickly become obsolete. If a new facility is fitted with suchelectronic/data intensive technology, the technology may become quicklyoutdated, requiring an expensive update and/or retrofit.

The present inventors thus realize that a solution to these problemslies in the use of wireless hand held devices. By utilizing moderntechnology integrated with hand held devices, on-demand live action,instant replays from multiple camera angles, and real-time team andvenue information may be readily provided to fans without the expenseand problems associated with present in-seat integrated technicalenvironments. Additionally, it is anticipated that the deployment ofvenue-based systems facilitating the use of such devices would berelatively inexpensive, at least in comparison to seat integratedsystems. Finally, such systems will provide the venue attendee withincreased mobility and freedom of use within and throughout the venueenvironment.

BRIEF SUMMARY

One aspect of the present invention provides improved methods andsystems for delivering venue-related data to a hand held device.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide improvedmethods and systems for delivering real time video provided at anentertainment venue to a hand held device.

It is still another aspect of the present invention to provide methodsand systems for providing multiple perspectives from a venue activityfor viewing through a hand held device.

It is yet another aspect of the present invention to provide hand helddevices and associated methods that provide on-demand video action andinstant replays from multiple camera angles focused on an entertainmentvenue activity.

It is still another aspect of the present invention to provide hand helddevices and associated methods that provide on-demand video action andinstant replays from one or more wide-angle and/or panoramic camerasfocused on a venue activity.

The above and other aspects of the invention are achieved as will now befurther described. Systems and methods are disclosed for providing videoof a live venue event to a hand held device. A hand held devicewirelessly receives data containing two or more video streams conveyinglive video venue event content, the venue event content including movingimages of action occurring at the live venue event held at a venue. Acellular communications network (e.g., CDMA, GSM, GPRS, TDMA, 3G, etc.)is provided through which the data containing the two or more videostreams is transmitted to the hand held device for display via a displayassociated with the hand held device.

Other methods and systems for receiving and displaying venue-based dataat a hand held device are also disclosed herein. According to one methoddescribed herein, data transmitted from at least one venue-based datasource may be received at a hand held device. Such data can be processedfor display on a display screen associated with the hand held device.The processed data may be then displayed on the display screen, therebyenabling a user of the hand held device to view venue-based data throughthe hand held device.

The venue-based data source may be configured as a video camera or agroup of video cameras that capture video images of a venue-activity.The video cameras may be adapted to provide high-resolution wide-anglevideo data. Data transmitted from the venue-based data source may bereceived at the hand held device through at least one receiver. Asdescribed herein, frequency tuners may be associated with each videocamera to enable a user to receive data transmitted over a particularfrequency via a transmitter linked with the video camera.

Data may be broadcast to one or more hand held devices in a venuethrough wireless communications. Additionally, data may be transmittedfrom at least one venue-based data source to the hand held devicesthrough a wireless network. Such data may additionally be transferredthrough a wireless gateway associated with the wireless network. Theprocessed data may be displayed on a display screen, in response to userinput through a user interface associated with the hand held device.

The processed data may comprise one or more perspectives of avenue-based activity. A particular perspective of the venue-basedactivity may be displayed on the display screen, in response to a userselection of the particular perspective of the venue activity. The datamay be processed for display on the display screen associated with thehand held device utilizing at least on image-processing module, routine,subroutine, or combination thereof.

According to another method disclosed herein includes method andoperational steps for wirelessly receiving venue-based data at a handheld device. In such a method, data transmitted from one or morevenue-based data sources may be wirelessly received at a hand helddevice. The data is then processed for display on a display screenassociated with the hand held device. The processed data is thendisplayed on the display screen, thereby enabling a user of the handheld device to view venue-based data through the hand held deviceutilizing wireless communication techniques.

An additional method disclosed herein includes method and operationalsteps for receiving one or more perspectives of a venue-based activityat a hand held device. In such a method, one or more perspectives of avenue-based activity transmitted from one or more venue-based datasources can be received at a hand held device. The perspective orperspectives are processed for display on a display screen associatedwith the hand held device. Thereafter, one or more perspectives aredisplayed on the display screen, thereby enabling a user of the handheld device to view venue-based perspectives through the hand helddevice.

An additional method is disclosed herein for displaying a particularperspective of a venue-based activity at a hand held device. In such amethod, a plurality of perspectives of a venue-based activitytransmitted from at least one venue-based data source is received at ahand held device. The perspectives are processed for display on adisplay screen associated with the hand held device. Finally, aparticular perspective may be displayed on the display screen, inresponse to a user selection of the particular perspective from amongone or more perspectives, thereby enabling a user of the hand helddevice to view particular venue-based data through the hand held device.

Systems are also described herein for receiving venue-based data at ahand held device. In one such system, at least one receiver forreceiving at a hand held device, data transmitted from at least onevenue-based data source, is presented. Additionally, such a system mayinclude a processor for processing the data for display on a displayscreen associated with the hand held device. The system can alsoincorporate a display screen for displaying processed data, therebyenabling a user of the hand held device to view venue-based data throughthe hand held device.

A wireless hand held device having at least one integrated receiver maybe in the form of a held held portable television adapted to receive atleast one broadcasted signal from at least one venue-based transmitterassociated with at least one venue-based data source (e.g., videocamera) associated with venue activity.

The venue-based data source may be configured as a video camera. Such avideo camera may be adapted to provide high-resolution wide-angle videodata. The video camera can be configured as a wireless video camera.Such a system further includes one or more transmitters for broadcastingdata from at least one venue-based data source to one or more hand helddevices within the venue. A wireless gateway may also be integrated withsuch a system for transferring the data through a wireless network.

The processed data is generally displayable on the display screen, inresponse to user input through a user interface associated with the handheld device. The processed day may also comprise at least oneperspective of a venue-based activity. A display routine may also beutilized for displaying a particular perspective of the venue-basedactivity on the display screen, in response to a user selection of theparticular perspective of the venue activity. Additionally, a processorfor processing the data for display on the display screen associatedwith the hand held device utilizing at least one image-processing modulemay also be utilized in accordance with systems of the presentinvention. The venue-based data may be composed of real-time video data,instant replay video data, promotional information, advertisinginformation, and so forth.

A system for wirelessly receiving venue-based data at a hand held deviceis also disclosed herein. Such a system generally includes a receiverfor wirelessly receiving at a wireless hand held device data transmittedfrom at least one venue-based data source, a processor for processingthe data for display at the hand held device, and a display screen fordisplaying processed data, wherein the display screen is associated withthe hand held device, thereby enabling a user of the hand held device toview venue-based data through a wireless hand held device.

A system for receiving at least one perspective of a venue-basedactivity at a hand held device is additionally disclosed herein. Such asystem includes at least one receiver for receiving at a hand helddevice at least one perspective of a venue-based activity transmittedfrom at least one venue-based data source. Such a system alsoincorporates a processor for processing one or more perspectives of thevenue-based activity for display on a display screen associated with thehand held device. Additionally, such a system can be configured with adisplay screen for displaying at least one perspective view, therebyenabling a user of the hand held device to view perspectives ofvenue-based activity through the hand held device. The display screenmay be integrated with the hand held device.

Another system disclosed herein describes a system for displaying aparticular perspective of a venue-based activity at a hand held device.In such a system, at least one receiver for receiving at a hand helddevice, one or more perspectives of a venue-based activity transmittedfrom venue-based data sources, may be present. Additionally, such asystem can include a processor for processing perspectives of the venueactivity for display on a display screen associated with the hand helddevice. Such a system can also be configured with a display screen fordisplaying a particular perspective on the display screen, in responseto a user selection of the particular perspective from among a group ofvenue-activity perspectives, thereby enabling a user of the hand helddevice to view particular venue-based video images through the hand helddevice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed characteristic of this invention are setforth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well asa preferred mode of use, further objects, and advantages thereof, willbest be understood by reference to the following detailed description ofan illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram illustrating components of a hand helddevice, in which embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates a pictorial representation of a hand held device,which may be utilized to implement an embodiment;

FIG. 3 depicts a pictorial representation of a hand held device adaptedfor receiving a module, in accordance with an alternative embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a system for providing multiple perspectives througha hand held device of activities at a venue, in accordance with analternative embodiment;

FIG. 5 depicts a system that provides multiple perspectives of a venueactivity through a hand held device adapted to receive and process realtime video data, in accordance with a preferred embodiment;

FIG. 6 depicts a system for providing multiple perspectives of activityat a venue through a hand held device adapted to receive and processreal time video data, in accordance with a preferred embodiment;

FIG. 7 depicts a system for providing multiple perspectives for activityat a venue at a first time/perspective and a second time/perspective, inaccordance with a preferred embodiment;

FIG. 8 illustrates a system for providing multiple perspectives througha hand held device of an activity at a venue, including the use of awireless gateway, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 depicts a system for providing multiple perspectives through ahand held device of a venue activity, in association with a wirelessnetwork, in accordance with a preferred embodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates a diagram depicting network attributes of a wirelessnetwork that may be utilized in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 11 depicts a prior art overview display and a detail window;

FIG. 12 illustrates a prior art spherical image space divided into aseries of w rows and q columns, with the rows and columns representingindividual frames as photographed from a video camera;

FIG. 13 depicts the two-dimensional representation of the sphericalimage space of FIG. 12 into rows and columns of image frames;

FIG. 14 illustrates a prior art overview display, a detail window and acorresponding area indicia (geometric figure outline;

FIG. 15 depicts a prior art series of saved geometric figure outlinescorresponding to user selections in tracing through an overview imagedisplay for subsequent playback, which may be utilized in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a prior art flowchart providing a logical process forbuilding an overview image, which may be utilized in accordance withembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 17 illustrates a prior art flowchart illustrative of a logicalprocess for playback interaction, which may be utilized in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 18 depicts a pictorial representation illustrative of a VenuePositioning System (VPS), which can be implemented in accordance with analternative embodiment;

FIG. 19 illustrates in greater detail the Venue Positioning System (VPS)of FIG. 18, in accordance with an alternative embodiment;

FIG. 20 depicts a flowchart of operations illustrative of a method forproviding multiple venue activities through a hand held device, inaccordance with an alternative embodiment; and

FIG. 21 illustrates a flowchart of operations illustrative of a methodfor providing multiple venue activities through a hand held device fromone or more digital video cameras, in accordance with an alternativeembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram illustrating a general hardwareconfiguration of a hand held device 11, which can be implemented inaccordance an embodiment. Those skilled in the art can appreciate,however, that other hardware configurations with less or more hardwareand/or modules may be utilized in carrying out the methods and systems(e.g., hand held device 11) of the present invention, as may be furtherdescribed herein. CPU 10 of hand held device 11, can perform as a maincontroller operating under the control of operating clocks supplied froma clock oscillator. CPU 10 may be configured as a 16-bit microprocessor.External pins of CPU 10 are generally coupled to an internal bus 26 sothat it may be interconnected to respective components.

SRAM 24 can be configured as a writeable memory that does not require arefresh operation and can be generally utilized as a working area of CPU10. SRAM (Static RAM) is generally a form of semiconductor memory (RAM)based on a logic circuit known as a flip-flop, which retains informationas long as there is enough power to run the device. Font ROM 22 can beconfigured as a read only memory for storing character images (e.g.,font) displayable on a display 18. Examples of types of displays thatmay be utilized in accordance with display 18 include a TFT activematrix display, an illuminated LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), or othersmall scale displays being developed.

CPU 10 of the present embodiment drives display 18 utilizing, amongother media, font images from Font ROM 22, and images transmitted asdata through wireless unit 17 and processed by image-processing unit 35.EPROM 20 may be configured as a read only memory that is generallyerasable under certain conditions and can be utilized for permanentlystoring control codes for operating respective hardware components andsecurity data, such as a serial number.

IR controller 14 can be generally configured as a dedicated controllerfor processing infrared codes transmitted/received by an IR transceiver16 and for capturing the same as computer data. Wireless unit 17 can begenerally configured as a dedicated controller and transceiver forprocessing wireless data transmitted from and to a wirelesscommunications network.

Port 12 can be connected to CPU 10 and can be temporarily attached, forexample, to a docking station to transmit information to and from handheld device 11 to other devices, such as personal computers, retail cashregisters, electronic kiosk devices, and so forth. Port 12 can also beconfigured, for example, to link with a modem, cradle or dockingstation, which is well known in the art, and can permit network devices,a personal computer or other computing devices to communicate with handheld device 11.

User controls 32 permit a user to enter data to hand held device 11 andinitiate particular processing operations via CPU 10. A user interface33 may be linked to user controls 32 to permit a user to access andmanipulate hand held device 11 for a particular purpose, such as, forexample, viewing images on display 18. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that user interface 33 may be implemented as a touch screenuser interface, as indicated by the dashed lines linking display 18 withuser interface 33. In addition, CPU 10 may cause a sound generator 28 togenerate sounds of predetermined frequencies from a speaker 30. Speaker30 may be utilized to produce music and other audio informationassociated with video data transmitted to hand held device 11 form anoutside source.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that additional electroniccircuits or the like other than, or in addition to, those illustrated inFIG. 1 may be required to construct hand held device 11. Suchcomponents, however, are not described in the present specification,because many aspects of them are well known in the art. For example,hand held television are available for receiving public televisionbroadcasts, but the basic technology can be modified on such devices sothat they may be adapted to (e.g., proper authentication, filters,security codes, or the like) receive venue-based RF transmissions fromat least one venue-based RF source (e.g., a wireless camera, or datafrom a camera transmitted wirelessly through a transmitter). Thoseskilled in the art can thus appreciate that because of the brevity ofthe drawings described herein, only a portion of the connections betweenthe illustrated hardware blocks is generally depicted. In addition,those skilled in the art will appreciate that hand held device 11 can beimplemented as a specific type of a hand held device, such as a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), paging device, WAP-enabled mobile phone, andother associated hand held computing devices well known in the art.

Hand held device 11 can be configured to permit images, such astelevision broadcast images, to be displayed on display 18 for a user toview. Hand held device 35 thus includes an image-processing unit 35 forprocessing images transmitted as data to hand held device 11 throughwireless unit 17. A tuner unit 34, implemented as either a single tuneror a plurality of tuners, may be linked through internal bus 26 to CPU10. Additionally, a security unit 36 may be utilized to process propersecurity codes to thereby ensure that data transferred to and from handheld device 11 may be secure and/or permitted. Security unit 36 may beimplemented as an optional feature of hand held device 11. Security unit36 can also be configured with routines or subroutines that areprocessed by CPU 10, and which prevent wireless data from beingtransmitted/received from hand held device 11 beyond a particularfrequency range, outside of a particular geographical area associatedwith a local wireless network, or absent authorized authorization codes(e.g., decryption).

Hand held device 11 can thus be configured with both wireless andwireline capabilities, depending on the needs and requirements of amanufacturer or customer. Such wireless capabilities include featuressuch as those found in cellular telephone units, in accordance withcarrying out embodiments of the present invention. Examples of hand helddevices that can be utilized in accordance with the method and system ofthe present invention include the “Palm Pilot” PDA, manufactured andsold by Palm Computing, the Handspring Visor, the IBM Workpad or otherWindow CE compatible devices, RIM Blackberry-family paging devices,Motorola paging devices, and the Symbol SPT-family of PDA-type organizerdevices. Customized, venue-specific devices (i.e., proprietary, limiteduse) may be also developed that incorporate hardware and softwaremodules necessary to practice the methods and systems taught herein.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that although hand held device11 is generally illustrated in FIG. 1, hand held device 11 can beimplemented as a wireless application protocol (WAP) web-enabledcellular hand held device, such as a PDA, wireless telephone, or pageror a combination thereof. Hand held device 11 can be configured withfeatures of combination cellular telephone/PDA devices. One example ofsuch a device is the Handspring™ palmtop and associated cellular phoneattachment, which is manufactured and sold by Handspring Inc. Other suchdevices include the Palm-Motorola phone, which permits users to accesse-mail and store calendars and contact databases. Hand held devices maybe also provided in the form of a multi-RF (Radio Frequency)receiver-enabled hand held television viewing device. Regardless of thetype of hand held device implemented, it is anticipated that such handheld devices will be adapted to receive and process data viaimage-processing unit 35 for ultimate display as moving images ondisplay unit 18, in accordance with the present invention.Image-processing unit 35 may include image-processing routines,subroutines, software modules, and so forth, which performimage-processing operations.

FIG. 2 illustrates a pictorial representation of a hand held device 40,which may be utilized to implement an embodiment. Those skilled in theart will appreciate that hand held device 40 of FIG. 2 is analogous tohand held device 11 of FIG. 1. Hand held device 40 includes a displayscreen 42, which is generally analogous to display 18 of FIG. 1.Television images broadcast via radio frequency or digital data may bedisplayed on display screen 42 for a user to view. User controls 44permit a user to manipulate images or text displayed on display screen42. User controls 44 of FIG. 2 are generally analogous to user controls32 of FIG. 1. A touch screen user interface may be further configured onthe display screen 42 with hand held device 40 to permit a user tomanipulate images/text displayed on display screen 42.

FIG. 3 depicts a pictorial representation of a hand held device 56adapted for receiving a module 50, in accordance with an alternativeembodiment. Hand held device 56 of FIG. 3 is generally analogous to handheld device 40 of FIG. 2, the difference being that hand held device 56may be adapted to receive a module/cartridge that permits hand helddevice 56 to function according to specific hardware and/or instructionscontained in a memory location within module 50. Module 50 may also beconfigured as a smart card, well known in the art. Such a smart card mayprovide, for example, access codes (e.g., decryption) to enable handheld device 56 to receive venue broadcasts. Note that as utilizedherein, the term “module” may refer to a physical module, such as acartridge. The term “module” may also refer to a software modulecomposed of routines or subroutines that perform a particular function.Those skilled in the art can appreciate the meaning of the term moduleis based on the context in which the term is utilized. Thus, module 50may be generally configured as a physical cartridge or smart card. Theterm “module” as utilized herein may also refer to a software module,depending on the context of the discussion thereof.

To illustrate the use of a physical module, such as module 50, assumethat a user may possess several such physical modules or cartridges. Onemodule, when inserted into hand held device FIG. 3 may instruct handheld device 50 to function as a standard PDA, such as a Palm Pilotdevice. Another module, when inserted into hand held device FIG. 3, mayinstruct hand held device 56 to function as a portable television thatreceives wireless television data from a local wireless network and/orvenue-based (short range) broadcasts.

Those skilled in the art can thus appreciate that hand held device 56can be adapted to receive and cooperate with module 50. Additionally,hand held device 56 includes a display screen 52 that is generallyanalogous to display screen 42 of FIG. 2 and display 18 of FIG. 1. Handheld device 56 also includes user controls 54 that are generallyanalogous to user controls 44 of FIG. 2 and user controls 32 of FIG. 1.Hand held device 56 of FIG. 3 is generally analogous to hand held device11 of FIG. 1. Thus, hand held device 56 can also implement touch screencapabilities through a touch screen user interface integrated withdisplay screen 52.

Assuming module 50 is implemented as a smart card, instead of acartridge, it is anticipated that similar features can be implemented inaccordance wit the smart card to insure that hand held device 56includes touch screen user interface and video viewing capabilities.Smart cards are generally known in the art as credit-card sized plasticcards with an embedded computer chip. The chip can either be amicroprocessor with internal memory or a memory chip withnon-programmable logic. The chip connection can be configured via directphysical contact or remotely through a contactless electromagneticinterface.

Smart cards may be generally configured as either a contact orcontactless smart card, or a combination thereof. A contact smart cardrequires insertion into a smart card reader (e.g., contained within handheld device 56) with a direct connection to, for example, a conductivemicromodule on the surface of the card. Such a micromodule may begenerally gold plated. Transmission of commands, data, and card statustakes place through such physical contact points.

A contactless card requires only close proximity to a reader. Both thereader and the card may be implemented with antenna means providing acontactless link that permits the devices to communicate with oneanother. Contactless cards can also maintain internal chip power or anelectromagnetic signal (e.g., RF tagging technology). Two additionalcategories of smart codes, well known in the art, which are based oncontact and contactless cards are the so-called Combi cards and Hybridcards.

A Hybrid card generally may be equipped with two chips, each with arespective contact and contactless interface. The two chips are notconnected, but for many applications, this Hybrid serves the needs ofconsumers and card issuers. The Combi card may be generally based on asingle chip and can be generally configured with both a contact andcontactless interface.

Chips utilized in such smart cards are generally based on microprocessorchips or memory chips. Smart cards based on memory chips depend on thesecurity of the card reader for their processing and can be utilizedwhen low to medium security requirements. A microprocessor chip can add,delete and otherwise manipulate information in its memory.Microprocessor-based memory cards typically contain microprocessor chipswith 8, 16, and 32 bit architectures.

FIG. 4 illustrates a system 58 for providing multiple perspectivesthrough a hand held device 60 of activities at a venue 80, in accordancewith an alternative embodiment. For illustrative purposes only, it maybe assumed that venue 80 of FIG. 4 is a stadium venue, such as afootball stadium. Cameras 71, 73, 75, and 77 are respectively positionedat strategic points about venue 80 to capture the best images ofactivity taking place within venue 80. Cameras 71, 73, 75, 77 arerespectively linked to transmitters 70, 72, 74, and 76. Each of thesetransmitters may be configured as equipment, which feeds a radio signalto an antenna for transmission.

The antenna may be integrated with the transmitter. Transmitters arewell known in the art, and include active components, such as a driver,well known in the art. Transmitters also include passive components,such as a TX filter, also well known in the art. These components, whenoperating together, impress a signal onto a radio frequency carrier ofthe correct frequency by immediately adjusting its frequency, phase, oramplitude, thereby providing enough gain to the signal to project it toits intended target (e.g., a hand held device located within the venue).

A hand held device 60 may be held by a user at a stadium seat withinview of the activity at the venue 80. Hand held device 60 is generallyanalogous to hand held device 11 of FIG. 1 and hand held device 40 ofFIG. 2. Hand held device 60 of FIG. 4 may be configured as a hand helddevice adapted for use with a cartridge/module, such as module 50 ofhand held device 56 of FIG. 3. The cartridge/module may contain theelectronics (e.g., tuner, filter, etc.) to allow a hand held device tobe adapted for receiving venue-based data. Hand held device 60 includesa display screen 61 (e.g. display 18 of FIG. 1).

Additionally, display screen 61 of hand held device 60 may be configuredwith a touch screen user interface displayable and operable on displayscreen 61. Those skilled in the art can appreciate that touch screeninterfaces are well known in the art and further explanation thereof maybe not necessary. Display screen 61 includes a touch screen display area65 that may be associated with camera 71. Thus, images captured bycamera 71 are transmitted from transmitter 70, which is linked to camera71. Additionally, display screen 61 includes touch screen display areas69, 63, and 67 which are respectively associated with cameras 73, 75,and 77.

Cameras 71, 73, 75, and 77 are respectively labeled C₁, C₂, C₃, andC_(N) to indicate that a plurality of cameras may be utilized inaccordance with system 58 to view activities taking place within venue80, such as a football game or concert. Although only four cameras areillustrated in FIG. 4, those skilled in the art will appreciate thatadditional or fewer cameras may be also implemented in accordance withsystem 58. Touch screen display areas 65, 69, 63, and 67 are alsorespectively labeled C₁, C₂, C₃, and C_(N) to illustrate the associationbetween these display areas and cameras 71, 73, 75, and 77.

Hand held device 60 may be integrated with a plurality of tuners, asillustrated by tuners 62, 64, 66, and 68. Such tuners can be activatedvia user controls on hand held device 60 and/or via touch screen iconsor areas displayed on display screen 61 that are associated with eachtuner. Such icons/areas may be respectively displayed within displayareas 65, 69, 63 and 67, or within a separate display area of displayscreen 61. A user accesses tuner 62, for example, to retrieve real-timevideo images transmitted from transmitter 70 for camera 71. Likewise, auser can access tuner 64 to retrieve real-time video images transmittedfrom transmitter 72 for camera 73.

In addition, a user can access tuner 74 to retrieve real-time videoimages transmitted from transmitter 74 for camera 75. Finally, user canaccess tuner 68 to retrieve real-time video images transmitted fromtransmitter 76 for camera 77. In the example depicted in FIG. 4, afootball player 82 is participating in a football game within venue 80.Cameras 71, 73, 75, and 77 capture moving images (e.g., video data) ofthe football player 82 from various angles and transmit these images tohand held device 60.

FIG. 5 depicts a system 59 that provides multiple perspectives ofactivity at a venue 80 through a hand held device 60 adapted to receiveand process real time video data, in accordance with a preferredembodiment. Note that in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 analogous parts are indicatedby identical reference numerals. Thus, for example, cameras 71, 73, 75,and 77 of FIG. 5 are analogous to cameras 71, 73, 75, and 77 of FIG. 4.Hand held device 60 of FIG. 5 is also analogous to hand held device 60of FIG. 4 and includes similar features thereof.

Hand held device 60 of FIG. 5, however, can be configured to receivewireless real time video data transmitted for cameras 71, 73, 75, and 77respectively through data transmitters 102, 104, 106, and 108 to server100 and thereafter to wireless data transmitter/receiver 110. Note thatwireless data transmitter/receiver 110 is analogous to wireless unit 17of FIG. 1. Hand held device 60 of FIG. 5 is also analogous to hand helddevice 11 of FIG. 1.

Hand held device 60 of FIG. 5 also incorporates a touch screen userinterface, as described herein with respect to analogous hand helddevice 60 of FIG. 4. The difference between system 58 of FIG. 4 andsystem 59 of FIG. 5 lies in the inclusion of digital transmitters 102,104, 106, and 108 which are respectively linked to cameras 71, 73, 75,and 77 of FIG. 5. In the illustration of FIG. 5, cameras 71, 73, 75, and77 may be configured as high definition video cameras which capture realtime images of events or activities taking place within venue 80, suchas real time video footage of football player 82.

A captured image of football player 82 can be transferred from one ormore of video cameras 71, 73, 75, and 77 of FIG. 5 and transmittedthrough a respective digital transmitter, such as digital transmitter102, 104, 106 or 108 and transmitted via wired and/or wirelesscommunications to server 100. The server 100 then processes the videodata received from one or more of the digital transmitters and formatsthe video data for transmission via wireless means to wireless datatransmitter/receiver 100, which may be integrated with hand held device100. Transmitter/receiver 100 can communicate with the variouscomponents of hand held device 60, such as a CPU, image-processing unit,memory units, and so forth.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that although real time videodata may be transmitted to server 100, captured past video images mayalso be stored within server 100 and transferred to hand held device 60for display at display screen 61. For example, instant replays may betransferred as video data to hand held device 60 upon the request of auser of hand held device 60. Such instant replay footage can bedisplayed on display screen 61 for the user to view.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system 79 for providing multiple perspectives ofactivity at a venue 80 through a hand held device 60 adapted to receiveand process real time video data from at least one wide-angle and/orpanoramic video camera 114, in accordance with a preferred embodiment.In system 79 of FIG. 6, wide-angle/panoramic (hereinafter referred to as“panoramic”) video camera 114 may be configured as a high-definitionpanoramic video camera that captures images of activities taking placeat venue 80. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, panoramic videocamera 114 can capture of images of a football game and one or morefootball players, such as football player 82.

A data transmitter 112 may be linked to panoramic video camera 114.Video data captured by panoramic video camera 114 may be transferred todata transmitter 112, which thereafter transmits the video data toserver 100 via a direct link or wireless link, depending on the needs orrequirements of the promoters or venue owners. Note that this is alsotrue of the system described in FIG. 6. Server 100 of FIG. 6 isanalogous to server 100 of FIG. 5. Thus, in the case of FIG. 5, videodata may be transmitted from one or more of data transmitters 102, 104,106, and 108 via a direct wire/cable link or through wirelesstransmission means, such as through a wireless network.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate, of course, that hand helddevice 60 of FIG. 6 is analogous to hand held devices depicted in FIGS.1-5 herein. In FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, like or analogous parts are identifiedby identical reference numerals. Thus, images captured by panoramicvideo camera 114 of activity taking place at venue 80 may be displayedas real time video images or instant replay data on display screen 61 ofhand held device 60.

FIG. 7 depicts a system 89 for providing multiple perspectives foractivity at a venue 120 at a first time and/or perspective (Time 1) anda second time and/or perspective (Time 2), in accordance with apreferred embodiment. In FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7, like or analogous partsare indicated by identical reference numerals. Thus, in system 89 ofFIG. 7, an event, in this case illustrated as a hockey game, is takingplace within venue 120. Venue 120 may be, for example, a hockey arena.Panoramic video camera 114 may be linked to data transmitter 112.

As explained previously, data transmitter 112 may be linked to server100 via a direct link, such as a transmission cable or line, or throughwireless communication means, such as through a wireless network. Server100 can also communicate with hand held device 60 through a wirelessnetwork or other wireless communication means by transmitting datathrough such a network or wireless communications means to wireless datatransmitter/receiver 110. Wireless data transmitter/receiver 110, asexplained previously, may be integrated with hand held device 60.

Thus, a video image 124 of a hockey player 122 can be captured as videodata by panoramic video camera 114, along with a video image 126 of ahockey player 123 and displayed within display screen 61 of hand helddevice 60 as indicated at Time 1. Video image 124 and 126 can bedisplayed within a grid-like interface on display screen 61. Note thatin the illustration of FIG. 7, display screen 61 may be divided intofour sections.

When a user touches, for example the area or section of display screen61 in which video image 124 may be displayed, the entire display area ofdisplay screen 61 can be then consumed with a close-up video shot ofvideo image 124, as indicated at Time 2, thereby providing the user witha closer view of hockey player 122. Those skilled in the art canappreciate that the touch screen display area of display screen 61 canbe arranged with graphical icons and/or user-controls that performspecific pan and zoom functions. Such icons/user-controls, whenactivated by a user, permit the user to retrieve panned/zoomed images ofevents taking place in real time within venue 120.

Note that although only one panoramic video camera 114 and one datatransmitter 112 are illustrated in FIG. 7, a plurality of panoramicvideo cameras, servers, and data transmitters may be implemented inaccordance with the present invention to capture the best video images,image-processing, and signal capacity to users, whether real time orotherwise, of events taking place at venue 120.

FIG. 8 illustrates a system 92 for providing multiple perspectivesthrough hand held device 60 of an activity at a venue 130, including theuse of a wireless gateway 124, in accordance with a preferredembodiment. Those skilled in the art can appreciate that wirelessgateway 124 may be configured as an access point for a wireless LAN(Local Area Network). Access points for wireless LAN networks andassociated wired and wireless hardware (e.g., servers, routers,gateways, etc.) are well known in the art and may be utilized inaccordance with the present invention described herein. Again, note thatin FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, like or analogous parts are indicated byidentical reference numerals. System 92 of FIG. 8 is analogous to system89 of FIG. 7, the difference being in the nature of the venue activity.Venue 130 can be, for example, a concert hall or stadium configured witha sound stage.

Gateway 124 can be configured as a communications gateway through whichdata may enter or exit a communications network, such as wirelessnetwork 152 illustrated in FIG. 9 for a large capacity of user handdevice 60 users. Wireless network 152 may be configured as a wirelessLAN network. Hand held device 60 can be configured to communicate andreceive transmissions from such a wireless LAN network based on deviceidentification (e.g., device address). Communication with hand helddevices, such as hand held device 60, however, may also be achievedthrough RF (Radio Frequency) broadcasts, thereby not requiring two-waycommunication and authentication between, for example, a wireless LANnetwork and such hand held devices. A broadcast under such a scenariomay also require that such a hand held device or hand held devicespossess decryption capabilities or the like in order to be authorized toreceive transmissions from the venue.

The remaining elements of FIG. 8 are also analogous to the elementsdepicted in the previous drawings, with the addition of wireless gateway124, which may be linked to server 100 and may be in communication withseveral wireless data transmitters/receivers 110 and one or moreelectronic hand held devices, including hand held device 60. Wirelessdata transmitter/receiver 110, as explained previously, may beintegrated with hand held device 60. One or more panoramic videocameras, such as panoramic video camera 114, can be positioned at avenue 130 at locations that capture images not only of the events takingplace on a concert stage, but also events taking place within thestadium itself.

If an audience member 140, for example, happens to be walking along astadium aisle within view of panoramic video camera 114, the audiencemember's video image can be displayed as video image 144 within displayscreen 61 of hand held device 60, as indicated at Time 1. Likewise,panoramic video camera 114 captures images of band member 138 whosevideo image can be displayed as video image 142 within a display area ofdisplay screen 61, as indicated at Time 1.

Thus, a user of hand held device 60 can view not only the events takingplace on a central performing platform of venue 130, but also otherevents within the arena itself. The band member 138 may be located on acentral performing platform (not shown) of venue 130 when panoramicvideo camera 114 captures real-time video images of band member 138. Theuser may also, for example, wish to see a close-up of audience member140. By activating user controls and/or a touch screen interfaceintegrated with display screen 61, the user can, for example, pan orzoom to view a close-up video shot of audience member 140, as indicatedat Time 2.

Captured video images are transferred from panoramic video camera 114 asvideo data through transmitter 112 to server 100 and through wirelessgateway 124 to wireless data transmitter/receiver 110. Although a singleserver 100 is illustrated in FIG. 8, those skilled in the art canappreciate that a plurality of servers may be implemented in accordancewith the present invention to process captured and transmitted videodata. Based on the foregoing, those skilled in the art can appreciatethat video data may be simultaneously transferred from server 100 or aplurality or servers to literally thousands of hand held devices locatedwithin the range of the wireless network and/or wireless gatewaysassociated with venue 130.

FIG. 9 illustrates a system 150 for providing multiple perspectivesthrough hand held device 60 of an activity at a venue 130 in associationwith a wireless network 152, in accordance with a preferred embodiment.System 150 of FIG. 9 is analogous to system 92 of FIG. 8, the differencenoted in the inclusion of wireless network 152. Thus, in FIG. 8 and FIG.9, like or analogous parts are indicated by identical referencenumerals. Video data captured by a camera or cameras, such as panoramicvideo camera 114, may be transferred to data transmitter 112, whichtransmits the video data to wireless network 152. Wireless network 152then retransmits the data, at the request of authorized users of handheld devices, such as hand held device 60, to wireless datatransmitters/receivers, such as transmitter/receiver 110 integrated withhand held device 60.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that wireless network 152 mayalso receive and retransmit other data, in addition to video data. Forexample, a server or other computer system may be integrated withwireless network 152 to provide team and venue data, which can then betransferred to wireless data transmitter receiver 110 from wirelessnetwork 152 and displayed thereafter as team and venue informationwithin display screen 61 of hand held device 60. Other data that may betransferred to hand held device for display include real-time andhistorical statistics, purchasing, merchandise and concessioninformation, and additional product or service advertisements.

Such data can include box scores, player matchups, animated playbooks,shot/hit/pitch charts, historical information, and offense-defensestatistics. In a concert venue, for example, as opposed to a sportingevent, information pertaining to a particular musical group can be alsotransferred to the hand held device, along with advertising or sponsorinformation. Note that both the video data and other data describedabove generally comprise types of venue-based data. Venue-based data, asreferred to herein, may include data and information, such as video,audio, advertisements, promotional information, propaganda, historicalinformation, statistics, event scheduling, and so forth, associated witha particular venue and generally not retrievable through publicnetworks.

Such information can be transmitted together with video data receivedfrom data transmitter 112. Such information may be displayed asstreaming data within display area 61 of hand held device 60 or simplystored in a database within hand held device 60 for later retrieval bythe user. An example of a wireless network that may be utilized toimplement wireless network 152 can be Bluetooth, which is described ingreater detail herein, and was conceived originally to make up for theshortcomings of infrared technologies (IR). Because IR cannot beutilized to penetrate walls, carry data heavy signals, or operate withindevices that are not in line of sight, Bluetooth, which is becomingwell-known the art, can be configured as or with wireless network 152.

FIG. 10 illustrates an entity diagram 170 depicting network attributesof wireless network 152 that may be utilized in accordance with one ormore embodiments. Wireless network 152 of FIG. 10 is analogous towireless network 152 of FIG. 9. Wireless network 152 as illustrated inFIG. 10 can be configured as a variety of possible wireless networks.Thus, entity diagram 170 illustrates attributes of wireless network 152,which may or may not be exclusive of one another.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that a variety of possiblewireless communications and networking configurations may be utilized toimplement wireless network 152. Wireless network 152 may be, forexample, implemented according to a variety of wireless protocols,including cellular, Bluetooth, and RF or direct IR communications.Wireless network 152 can be implemented as a single network type (e.g.,Bluetooth) or a network based on a combination of network types (e.g.,GSM, CDMA, etc).

Wireless network 152 may be configured with teachings/aspects of CDPD(Cellular Digital Packet Data) networks well known in the networkingarts. CDPD network 154 is illustrated in FIG. 10. CDPD may be configuredas a TCP/IP based technology that supports Point-to-Point (PPP) orSerial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) wireless connections to mobiledevices, such as the hand held devices described and illustrated herein.Cellular service is generally available throughout the world from majorservice providers. Data can be transferred utilizing CDPD protocols.

Current restrictions of CDPD are not meant to limit the range orimplementation of the method and system described herein, but aredescribed herein for illustrative purposes only. It is anticipated thatCDPD will be continually developed, and that such new developments canbe implemented in accordance with the present invention.

Wireless network 152 may preferably be also configured withteachings/aspects of a Personal Area Network 156 or Bluetooth, asdescribed herein. Bluetooth was adopted by a consortium of wirelessequipment manufacturers referred to at the Bluetooth Special InterestGroup (BSIG), and has emerged as a global standard for low cost wirelessdata and voice communication. Current specifications for this standardcall for a 2.4 GHz ISM frequency band. Bluetooth technology is generallybased on a short-range radio transmitter/receiver built into smallapplication specific circuits (ASICS, DSPs) and embedded into supportdevices, such as the hand held devices described and illustrated herein.

The Bluetooth standard permits up to 100 mw of power, which can increasethe range to 100 M. In addition, Bluetooth can support several datachannels. Utilizing short data packets and frequency hopping of up to1600 hops per second, Bluetooth is a wireless technology that can beutilized to enable the implementation of the methods and systemsdescribed herein. Current restrictions of Bluetooth are not meant tolimit the range or implementation of the present invention, but aredescribed herein for illustrative purposes only. It is anticipatedBluetooth will be continually developed, and that such new developmentscan be implemented in accordance with the present invention.

Wireless network 152 may also be configured utilizing teachings/aspectsof GSM network 158. GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) and PCS(Personal Communications Systems) networks, both well known in thetelecommunications arts, generally operate in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, and1900 MHz range. PCS initiates narrowband digital communications in the900 MHz range for paging, and broadband digital communications in the1900 MHz band for cellular telephone service. In the United States, PCS1900 is generally equivalent to GSM 1900. GSM operates in the 900 MHz,1800-1900 MHz frequency bands, while GSM 1800 is widely utilizedthroughout Europe and many other parts of the world.

In the United States, GSM 1900 is generally equivalent to PCS 1900,thereby enabling the compatibility of these two types of networks.Current restrictions of GSM and PCS are not meant to limit the range orimplementation of the present invention, but are described herein forillustrative purposes only. It is anticipated that GSM and PCS will becontinually developed, and that aspects of such new developments can beimplemented in accordance with the present invention.

Wireless network 152 may also utilize teachings/aspects of GPRS network160. GPRS technology, well-known in the telecommunications arts, bridgesthe gap between current wireless technologies and the so-called “nextgeneration” of wireless technologies referred to frequently as thethird-generation or 3G wireless technologies. GPRS is generallyimplemented as a packet-data transmission network that can provide datatransfer rates up to 115 Kbps. GPRS can be implemented with CDMA andTDMA technology and supports X.25 and IP communications protocols, allwell known in the telecommunications arts. GPRS also enables features,such as Voice over IP (VoIP) and multimedia services. Currentrestrictions of GPRS are not meant to limit the range or implementationof the present invention, but are described herein for illustrativepurposes only. It is anticipated that GPRS will be continually developedand that such new developments can be implemented in accordance with thepresent invention.

Wireless network 152 may also be implemented utilizing teaching/aspectsof a CDMA network 162 or CDMA networks. CDMA (Code Division MultipleAccess) is a protocol standard based on IS-95 CDMA, also referred tofrequently in the telecommunications arts as CDMA-1. IS-95 CDMA isgenerally configured as a digital wireless network that defines how asingle channel can be segmented into multiple channels utilizing apseudo-random signal (or code) to identify information associated witheach user. Because CDMA networks spread each call over more than 4.4trillion channels across the entire frequency band, it is much moreimmune to interference than most other wireless networks and generallycan support more users per channel.

Currently, CDMA can support data at speeds up to 14.4 Kbps. Wirelessnetwork 152 may also be configured with a form of CDMA technology knownas wideband CDMA (W-CDMA). Wideband CDMA may be also referred to as CDMA2000 in North America. W-CDMA can be utilized to increase transfer ratesutilizing multiple 1.25 MHz cellular channels. Current restrictions ofCDMA and W-CDMA are not meant to limit the range or implementation ofthe present invention, but are described herein for illustrativepurposes only. It is anticipated that CDMA and W-CDMA will becontinually developed and that such new developments can be implementedin accordance with the present invention.

Wireless network 152 may be also implemented utilizing teachings/aspectsof paging network 164. Such paging networks, well known in thetelecommunications arts, can be implemented in accordance with thepresent invention to enable transmission or receipt of data over theTME/X protocol, also well known in the telecommunications arts. Such aprotocol enables notification in messaging and two-way data coverageutilizing satellite technology and a network of base stationsgeographically located throughout a particular geographical region.Paging network 162 can be configured to process enhanced 2-way messagingapplications.

Unified messaging solutions can be utilized in accordance with wirelessnetwork 152 to permit carriers and Internet service providers to managecustomer e-mail, voice messages and fax images and can facilitatedelivery of these communications to PDAs, telephony devices, pagers,personal computers and other capable information retrieval devices,wired or wireless.

Current restrictions of such paging networks are not meant to limit therange or implementation of the present invention, but are describedherein for illustrative purposes only. It is anticipated that suchpaging networks, including those based on the TME/X protocol, will becontinually developed and that such new developments can be implementedin accordance with the present invention.

Wireless network 152 may also be configured utilizing teachings/aspectsof TDMA networks 166. TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) is atelecommunications network utilized to separate multiple conversationtransmissions over a finite frequency allocation of through-the-airbandwidth. TDMA can be utilized in accordance with the present inventionto allocate a discrete amount of frequency bandwidth to each user in aTDMA network to permit many simultaneous conversations or transmissionof data. Each user may be assigned a specific timeslot for transmission.A digital cellular communications system that utilizes TDMA typicallyassigns 10 timeslots for each frequency channel.

A hand held device operating in association with a TDMA network sendsbursts or packets of information during each timeslot. Such packets ofinformation are then reassembled by the receiving equipment into theoriginal voice or data/information components. Current restrictions ofsuch TDMA networks are not meant to limit the range or implementation ofthe present invention, but are described herein for illustrativepurposes only. It is anticipated that TDMA networks will be continuallydeveloped and that such new developments can be implemented inaccordance with the present invention.

Wireless network 152 may also be configured utilizing teachings/aspectsof Wireless Intelligent Networks (WINs) 168. WINs are generally known asthe architecture of the wireless switched network that allows carriersto provide enhanced and customized services for mobile telephones.Intelligent wireless networks generally include the use of mobileswitching centers (MSCs) having access to network servers and databasessuch as Home Location Registers (HLRs) and Visiting Location Registers(VLRs), for providing applications and data to networks, serviceproviders and service subscribers (wireless device users).

Local number portability allows wireless subscribers to make and receivecalls anywhere—regardless of their local calling area. Roamingsubscribers are also able to receive more services, such as callwaiting, three-way calling and call forwarding. A HLR is generally adatabase that contains semi-permanent mobile subscriber (wireless deviceuser) information for wireless carriers' entire subscriber base.

A useful aspect of WINs for the present invention is enabling themaintenance and use of customer profiles within an HLR/VLR-typedatabase. Profile information may be utilized for example with seasonticket holders and/or fans of traveling teams or shows. HLR subscriberinformation as used in WINs includes identity, service subscriptioninformation, location information (the identity of the currently servingVLR to enable routing of communications), service restrictions andsupplementary services/information. HLRs handle SS7 transactions incooperation with Mobile Switching Centers and VLR nodes, which requestinformation from the HLR or update the information contained within theHLR. The HLR also initiates transactions with VLRs to complete incomingcalls and update subscriber data. Traditional wireless network design isgenerally based on the utilization of a single HLR for each wirelessnetwork, but growth considerations are prompting carriers to considermultiple HLR topologies.

The VLR may be also configured as a database that contains temporaryinformation concerning the mobile subscribers currently located in agiven MSC serving area, but whose HLR may be elsewhere. When a mobilesubscriber roams away from the HLR location into a remote location, SS7messages are used to obtain information about the subscriber from theHLR, and to create a temporary record for the subscriber in the VLR.

Signaling System No. 7 (referred to as SS7 or C7) is a global standardfor telecommunications. In the past the SS7 standard has defined theprocedures and protocol by which network elements in the public switchedtelephone network (PSTN) exchange information over a digital signalingnetwork to affect wireless and wireline call setup, routing, control,services, enhanced features and secure communications. Such systems andstandards may be utilized to implement wireless network 152 in supportof venue customers, in accordance with the present invention.

Improved operating systems and protocols allow Graphical User Interfaces(GUIs) to provide an environment that displays user options (e.g.,graphical symbols, icons or photographs) on a wireless device's screen.Extensible Markup Language (“XML”) is generally a currently availablestandard that performs as a universal language for data, makingdocuments more interchangeable. XML allows information to be used in avariety of formats for different devices, including PCs, PDAs andweb-enabled mobile phones.

XML enables documents to be exchanged even where the documents werecreated and/or are generally used by different software applications.XML may effectively enable one system to translate what another systemsends. As a result of data transfer improvements, wireless device GUIscan be utilized in accordance with a hand held device and wirelessnetwork 152, whether configured as a paging network or another networktype, to render images on the hand held device that closely representthe imaging capabilities available on desktop computing devices.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the system and logicalprocesses described herein relative to FIGS. 11 to FIG. 17 are notlimiting features of the present invention. Rather, FIGS. 11 to FIG. 17provide examples of image-processing systems and logical processes thatcan be utilized in accordance with the present invention. Such a systemand logical processes represent one possible technique, which may beutilized in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentinvention to permit a user of a hand held device to manipulate videoimages viewable on a display screen of the hand held device.

FIG. 11 thus illustrates a prior art overview display 200 and a detailwindow 210 that may be utilized with embodiments of the presentinvention. The overview image display 200 is a view representative of a360° rotation around a particular point in a space. While a completerotational view may be utilized in accordance with preferred embodimentsof the present invention, one of ordinary skill in the computer artswill readily comprehend that a semi-circular pan (such as used withwide-angle cameras) or other sequence of images could be substituted forthe 360 degree rotation without departing from the subject invention.The vantage point is generally where the camera was located as it pannedthe space. Usually the scene is captured in a spherical fashion as thecamera pans around the space in a series of rows as depicted in FIG. 12.The space is divided into w rows 220-224 and q columns 230-242 with eachq representing another single frame as shown in FIG. 12.

User control over the scene (e.g., rotation, pan, zoom) may be providedby pressing a touch screen display icon or moving a cursor displayed ona display screen of a hand held device, such as the hand held devicesdescribed herein. User control over the scene may also be provided bymanipulating external user controls integrated with a hand held device(e.g., user controls 44 and 54 of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3). Movement from aframe in the overview image display to another frame is in one of eightdirections as shown in FIG. 13. The user may interact with the videorepresentation of the space one frame at a time. Each individual frameis an image of one of the pictures taken to capture the space asdiscussed above. The individual frames may be pieced together.

Interacting with a video one frame at a time results in the ability topresent a detailed view of the space, but there are severe limitations.First, the interaction results in a form of tunnel vision. The user canonly experience the overview image display as it unfolds a single frameat a time. No provision for viewing an overview or browsing a particulararea is provided. Determining where the current location in the imagedisplay is, or where past locations were in the overview image displayis extremely difficult. Such limitations can be overcome by creating ofa motif not dissimilar to the natural feeling a person experiences asone walks into a room.

Another limitation of a simple overview viewer is that there is norandom access means. The frames can only be viewed sequentially as theoverview image display is unfolded. As adapted for use in accordancewith the present invention, this problem has been overcome by providingtools to browse, randomly select and trace selected images associatedwith any overview image.

FIG. 14 illustrates a prior art overview image 300, a detail window 310and a corresponding area indicia, in this case a geometric figureoutline 320. The detail window 310 corresponds to an enlarged imageassociated with the area bounded by the geometric figure outline 320 inthe overview image 300. As the cursor is moved, the location within theoverview image 300 may be highlighted utilizing the geometric figureoutline 320 to clearly convey what location the detail window 310corresponds.

One of ordinary skill in the computer arts will readily comprehend thatreverse videoing the area instead of enclosing it with a geometricfigure would work equally well. Differentiating the area with colorcould also be used without departing from the invention. A user canselect any position within the overview image, press the cursorselection device's button (for example, user controls in the form oftouch screen user interface buttons or icons), and an enlarged imagecorresponding to the particular area in the overview display ispresented in the detail window 310. Thus, random access of particularframes corresponding to the overview image may be provided.

FIG. 15 illustrates a prior art series of saved geometric figureoutlines corresponding to user selections in tracing through an overviewdisplay for subsequent playback. The overview image 400 has a detailwindow 410 with an enlarged image of the last location selected in theoverview image 470. Each of the other cursor locations traversed in theoverview image 420,430,440,450 and 460 are also enclosed by an outlineof a geometric figure to present a trace to the user.

Each of the cursor locations may be saved, and because each correspondsto a particular frame of the overview image, the trace of frames can bereplayed at a subsequent time to allow another user to review the framesand experience a similar presentation. Locations in the detailed windowand the overview image can also be selected to present other imagesassociated with the image area, but not necessarily formed from theoriginal image.

For example, a china teacup may appear as a dot in a china cabinet, butwhen the dot is selected, a detailed image rendering of the china teacupcould appear in the detailed window. Moreover, a closed door appearingin an image could be selected and result in a detailed image of a roomlocated behind the door even if the room was not visible in the previousimage. Finally, areas in the detailed window can also be selected toenable further images associated with the detailed window to berevealed. Details of objects within a scene are also dependent onresolution capabilities of a camera. Cameras having appropriateresolution and/or image processing capabilities are preferably used inaccordance with certain aspects of the present invention.

The overview image was created as discussed above. To assist one ofordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention, a more detaileddiscussion of the necessary processing is presented below with referenceto FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 herein.

FIG. 16 depicts a prior art flowchart providing a logical process forbuilding an overview image display. Such a logical process may beutilized in accordance with the present invention, but is not anecessary feature of the present invention. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that such a logical process is merely an example of onetype of image-processing algorithm that may be utilized in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention. For example, such a logicalprocess may be implemented as a routine or subroutine that runs viaimage-processing unit 35 of FIG. 1 in a hand held device. Those skilledin the art can appreciate that the logical process described withrelation to FIGS. 16 and 17 herein are not limiting features of thepresent invention.

Such logical processes, rather, are merely one of many such processesthat may be utilized in accordance with the present invention to permita user to manipulate video images displayed via a display screen of ahand held device. Navigable movie/video data in the form of images inputto the hand held device to form individual images can be thus processed,as illustrated at function block 500. User specified window size(horizontal dimension and vertical dimension) may be entered, asillustrated at function block 504.

Image variables can be specified (horizontal sub-sampling rate, verticalsub-sampling rate, horizontal and vertical overlap of individual frameimages, and horizontal and vertical clip (the number of pixels areclipped from a particular frame in the x and y plane)), as depicted atfunction block 508. Function blocks 500,504 and 508 are fed into thecomputation function block 510 where the individual frames are scaledfor each row and column, and the row and column variables are eachinitialized to one.

Then a nested loop can be invoked to create the overview image. First,as indicated at decision block 512, a test is performed to determine ifthe maximum number of rows has been exceeded. If so, then the overviewimage is tested to determine if its quality is satisfactory at decisionblock 520. If the quality is insufficient, the user may be provided withan opportunity to adjust the initial variables, as illustrated atfunction blocks 504 and 508. The processing is then repeated. If,however, the image is of sufficient quality, it can be saved anddisplayed for use, as depicted at block 560.

If the maximum rows has not been exceeded as detected in decision block512, then another test can be performed, as illustrated at decisionblock 514, to determine if the column maximum has been exceeded. If so,then the row variable can be incremented and the column variable can bereset to one at function block 518 and control flows to input block 520.If the column maximum has not been exceeded, then the column variablemay be incremented and the sub-image sample frame can be retrieved, asdepicted at input block 520. Then, as illustrated at function block 530,the frame may be inserted correctly in the overview image.

The frame may be inserted at the location corresponding to (Vsub * row *col)+Hsub * col; where row and col refer to the variables incremented inthe nested loop, and Vsub and Hsub are user specified variablescorresponding to the horizontal and vertical sub sampling rate. Finally,the incremental overview image can be displayed based on the newlyinserted frame as depicted at display block 540. Thereafter, the columnvariable can be reset to one and processing can be passed to decisionblock 512.

A computer system corresponding to the prior art method and systemdepicted in FIGS. 11 to 17 may be generally interactive. A user mayguess at some set of parameters, build the overview image, and decide ifthe image is satisfactory. If the image is not satisfactory, thenvariables can be adjusted and the image is recreated. This process canbe repeated until a satisfactory image results, which may be saved withits associated parameters. The picture and the parameters can be theninput to the next set of logic.

Such features may or may not be present with the hand held deviceitself. For example, images may be transmitted from a transmitter, suchas data transmitter 112 of FIG. 7, and subroutines or routines presentwithin the server itself may utilize predetermined sets of parameters tobuild the overview image and determine if the image is satisfactory,generally at the request of the hand held device user. A satisfactoryimage can be then transmitted to the hand held device. Alternatively,image-processing routines present within an image-processing unitintegrated with the hand held device may operate in association withroutines present within the server to determine if the image issatisfactory, and/or to manipulate the image (e.g., pan, zoom).

FIG. 17 depicts a prior art flowchart illustrative of a logical processfor playback interaction. The logical process illustrated in FIG. 17 maybe utilized in accordance with a preferred or alternative embodiment,depending of course, upon design considerations and goals. Playbackinteraction may commence, as illustrated at label 600, which immediatelyflows into function block 604 to detect if user controls have beenactivated at the hand held device. Such user controls may be configuredas external user controls on the hand held device itself (e.g., buttons,etc.), or via a touch screen user interface integrated with hand helddevice display screen.

When a touch screen user input or user control button press is detected,a test can be performed to determine if a cursor is positioned in theoverview portion of the display. If so, then the global coordinates canbe converted to overview image coordinates local to the overview imageas shown in output block 612. The local coordinates can be subsequentlyconverted into a particular frame number as shown in output block 614.Then, the overview image is updated by displaying the frame associatedwith the particular location in the overview image and control flows vialabel 600 to function block 604 to await the next button press.

If the cursor is not detected in the overview image as illustrated atdecision block 610, then another test may be performed, as indicated atdecision block 620, to determine if the cursor is located in thenavigable player (detail window). If not, then control can be passedback via label 600 to function block 604 to await the next user input.However, if the cursor is located in the detail window, then as depicteda function block 622, the direction of cursor movement may be detected.As depicted at function block 624, the nearest frame can be located, andas illustrated at decision block 626, trace mode may be tested.

If trace is on, then a geometric figure can be displayed at the locationcorresponding to the new cursor location in the overview image. Theoverview image may be then updated, and control can be passed back toawait the next user input via user controls at the hand held deviceand/or a touch screen user interface integrated with the hand helddevice. If trace is not on, the particular frame is still highlighted asshown in function block 630, and the highlight can be flashed on theoverview image as illustrated at output block 632. Thereafter, controlmay be returned to await the next user input.

Although the aforementioned logical processes describe the use of acursor as a means for detecting locations in a panorama, those skilledin the art can appreciate that other detection and tracking mechanismsmay be utilized, such as, for example, the pressing of a particular areawithin a touch screen display.

FIG. 18 depicts a pictorial representation illustrative of a VenuePositioning System (VPS) 700 in accordance with an alternativeembodiment. FIG. 18 illustrates a stadium venue 701 which is dividedaccording to seats and sections. Stadium venue 701 may be utilized forsports activities, concert activities, political rallies, or other venueactivities. Stadium venue 701 is divided, for example, into a variety ofseating sections A to N. For purposes of simplifying this discussion,VPS 700 is described in the context of sections A to C only.

A venue positioning system (VPS) device 704 is positioned in section Aof stadium venue 701, as indicated at position A2. A VPS device 702 islocated within section A at position A1. In the illustration of FIG. 18,it is assumed that VPS device 702 is located at the top of a staircase,while VPS device 704 is located at the bottom of the staircase, andtherefore at the bottom of section A, near the sports field 711. A VPSdevice 706 is located near the top of section B at position B1. A VPSdevice 708 is located at the bottom of section B at position B2, nearsports field 711. Similarly, in section C, venue positioning devices 710and 712 are respectively located at positions C1 and C2.

A hand held device 703 may be located at a seat within section A. Forpurposes of this discussion, and by way of example only, it is assumedthat hand held device 703 is being operated by a stadium attendeewatching a sporting event or other venue activity taking place on sportsfield 711. A hand held device 707 is located within section B. Hand helddevice 707, by way of example, may also be operated by a concessionaireor venue employee.

If the user of hand held device 703 desires to order a soda, hot dog, orother product or service offered by venue operators during the venueevent, the user merely presses an associated button displayed via atouch screen user interface integrated with the hand held device.Immediately, a signal is transmitted by hand held device 703, inresponse to the user input to/through the VPS device, wireless networkor wireless gateway as previously described. One or more of VPS devices702, 704, 706, and 708 may detect the signal. The VPS devices may alsooperate merely as transponders, in which case hand held devices will beable to determine their approximate location within the venue and thentransmit position information through wireless means to, for example,concession personnel.

VPS devices 702, 704, 706, and 708 function in concert with one anotherto determine the location of hand held device 703 within section A.Triangulation methods, for example, may be used through the hand helddevice or VPS devices to determine the location of the hand held devicewithin the venue. This information is then transmitted by one or more ofsuch VPS devices either directly to hand held device 707 or initiallythrough a wireless network, including a wireless gateway and associatedserver, and then to hand held device 707. The user of hand held device707 then can directly proceed to the location of hand held device 703 tooffer concession services.

Additionally, hand held device 703 can be configured with a venue menuor merchandise list. In response to requesting a particular item fromthe menu or merchandise list, the request can be transmitted as wirelessdata from hand held device 703 through the wireless network to hand helddevice 707 (or directly to a controller (not shown) of hand held device707) so that the user (concession employee) of hand held device 707 canrespond to the customer request and proceed directly to the location ofhand held device 703 used by a customer.

FIG. 19 illustrates in greater detail the VPS 700 of FIG. 18, inaccordance with an alternative embodiment. In FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 likeor analogous parts are indicated by identical reference numerals, unlessotherwise stated. Additionally wireless gateway 124 and server 100 ofFIG. 19 are analogous to the wireless gateway 124 and server 100illustrated in FIG. 8. Venue positioning units 702, 704, 706, and 708are located within section A and section B. A wireless gateway 124 islinked to server 100. Wireless gateway 124 can communicate with handheld device 707 and hand held device 703.

Wireless gateway 124 can also communicate with VPS devices 702, 704,706, and 708 if the VPS devices are also operating as data communicationdevices in addition to providing mere transponder capabilities. When VPSdevices 702, 704, 706, and 708 detect the location of hand held device703 within stadium venue 701, the location is transmitted to wirelessgateway 124 and thereafter to hand held device 703. It should beappreciated that a hand held device user may also identify his/herlocation in a venue by entering location information (e.g.,seat/section/row) on the hand held device when making a request to aservice provider such as a food concession operation. The VPS deviceswill still be useful to help concession management locate concessionemployees located within the venue that are in closest proximity to thehand held device user. A wireless gateway 124 and server 100 can beassociated with a wireless network implemented in association withstadium venue 701. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that such awireless network may be limited geographically to the stadium venue 701itself and the immediate surrounding area. An example of such a wirelessnetwork, as described previously is a Bluetooth based wireless network.

The hand held devices themselves may be proprietary devices owned bypromoters or operators of stadium venue 701 and rented to patrons fortheir use while attending a venue activity. Proprietary devices willgenerally be manufactured using durable materials (e.g., similar tothose materials used on field technician digital multimeters/devicessuch as the Fluke™ line of electronic devices). Proprietary devices willalso be limited in hardware and software modules (i.e., softwareroutines/subroutines) needed for communication with the venue system inorder to display venue activities to temporary users.

Hand held devices may also be owned by the patrons themselves which theybring into the stadium venue for their use by permission of the venuepromoter or stadium owners in return for the payment of a fee by thepatron. In return for the fee, the venue promoter or stadium owner canprovide the patron with a temporary code which permits them to accessthe wireless network associated with the venue itself, such as wirelessnetwork 152 described herein. Patron-owned devices may utilize smartcard technology to receive authorization codes (e.g., decryption) neededto receive venue-provided video/data. Codes may also be transferred tothe patron-owned device via IR or short range RF means. Wireless network152 described herein may be configured as a proprietary wirelessIntranet/Internet providing other data accessible by patrons throughtheir hand held devices.

FIG. 20 depicts a flowchart of operations 740 illustrative of a methodfor providing multiple venue activities through a hand held device, inaccordance with an alternative embodiment. The process is initiated, asdepicted at block 742. As illustrated next at block 744, a venueattendee may activate at least one hand held tuner integrated with ahand held device, such as the hand held device illustrated in FIG. 4. Atleast one tuner may be integrated with the hand held device, althoughmore than one tuner (or other simultaneous signal receiving capability)may be used within a hand held device in support of other embodiments ofthe invention previously described.

The tuner, or tuners, is/are associated with a transmissionfrequency/frequencies of a transmitter that may be linked to aparticular camera/cameras focusing on a venue activity, or to a wirelessgateway or wireless network transmission. To view the images from thatparticular angle, the user must retrieve the video images from thecamera associated with that particular angle. The user may have toadjust a tuner until the right frequency/image is matched, as indicatedat block 756. As illustrated at block 748, captured video images aretransferred from the video camera to the transmitter associated with thecamera, or a server in control of the camera(s). Video images aregenerally transmitted to the hand held device at the specifiedfrequency, in response to a user request at the hand held device, asdepicted at block 750.

An image-processing unit integrated with the hand held device, asillustrated at block 752 may then process transferred video images. Anexample of such an image-processing unit is image-processing unit 35 ofFIG. 1. As indicated thereafter at block 754, the video images of thevenue activity captured by the video camera can be displayed within adisplay area of the hand held device, such as display 18 of FIG. 1. Theprocess can then terminate, as illustrated at block 756.

FIG. 21 illustrates a flowchart of operations 770 illustrative of amethod for providing multiple venue activities through a hand helddevice from one or more digital video cameras, in accordance with analternative embodiment. As indicated at block 772, the process isinitiated. As illustrated next at block 774, video images of a venueactivity may be captured by one or more digital video camera.

Such digital video cameras may be panoramic/wide-angle in nature and/orconfigured as high definition video cameras, well known in the art. Thevideo camera or cameras may be respectively linked to data transmitters,such as data transmitters 102, 104, 106, and/or 108 of FIG. 5 or datatransmitter 112 of FIG. 6 to FIG. 9 herein. As depicted next at decisionblock 778, if a user does not request a view of the venue activitythrough the hand held device, the process terminates, as illustratedthereafter at block 779.

If, as illustrated at decision block 778, the user does request a viewof the venue activity through the hand held device, then as describedthereafter at block 780, video data may be transferred from a datatransmitter to a server, such as server 100 of FIG. 5 to FIG. 8 herein.The video data may be stored in a memory location of the server or aplurality of servers, as indicated at block 782. The video data may bethen transferred to a wireless data transmitter/receiver integrated withthe hand held device, as indicated at block 784.

As illustrated thereafter at block 786, the video data may be processedby an image-processing unit and associated image-processing routinesand/or subroutines integrated with the hand held device. Whenimage-processing is complete, the video images may be displayed in adisplay area of the hand held device. As illustrated next at block 790,if a user chooses to pan/zoom for a better view of the video imagesdisplayed within the hand held device, then two possible operations mayfollow, either separately or in association with one another.

The image-processing unit integrated with the hand held device mayprocess the user's pan/zoom request, as illustrated at block 792.Alternatively, image-processing routines and/or subroutines resident atthe server or a plurality of servers may process the user's pan/zoomrequest, following the transmission of the user's request from the handheld device to the server or plurality of servers. Such a request may betransmitted through a wireless gateway linked to the server or servers.

Image-processing may occur at the server or servers if the hand helddevice is not capable of directly processing the video data and videoimages thereof due to low memory or slow CPU allocation. Likewise, someimage-processing may take place within the hand held device, while videoimage-processing requiring faster processing capabilities and increasedmemory may take place additionally at the server or servers to assist inthe final image representation displayed at the hand held device.

When image-processing is complete, the pan/zoomed images can bedisplayed within a display screen or display area of the hand helddevice, as illustrated thereafter at block 796. The process thenterminates, as depicted at block 798. If the user does not requestpan/zoom, as indicated at block 790, the process may then terminate, asdescribed at block 791.

The embodiments and examples set forth herein are presented in order tobest explain the present invention and its practical application and tothereby enable those skilled in the art to make and utilize theinvention. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that theforegoing description and examples have been presented for the purposeof illustration and example only. The description as set forth is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light ofthe above teaching without departing from the spirit and scope of thefollowing claims.

1. A hand held device adapted for receiving streamed data including atleast one video perspective captured by at least one video cameralocated within an entertainment venue, comprising: a wireless RFreceiver adapted for receiving venue-based data including at least onevideo perspective in a form of a video stream from a remote server; asecurity unit for authorizing said hand held device to receive andprocess said venue-based data utilizing a security code; a processoradapted for processing said venue-based data; a display screen adaptedfor selectively displaying said venue-based data including streamedvideo; and a user interface adapted to enable a user to selectvenue-based data for display on said display screen.
 2. The hand helddevice of claim 1 further comprising a GPS module for determining alocation of said hand held device.
 3. The hand held device of claim 1further comprising an IR transceiver for receiving said security codefrom a computing device.
 4. The hand held device of claim 1 wherein saidwireless RF receiver further comprises a wireless RF transceiver adaptedto enable wireless data communications with a remote server.
 5. The handheld device of claim 1 wherein said wireless RF receiver furthercomprises a wireless RF transceiver adapted to enable wireless datacommunications with a wireless gateway.
 6. The hand held device of claim1 further comprising a sound generator for generating sounds associatedwith said venue-based data.
 7. The hand held device of claim 1 furthercomprising: a display routine adapted for displaying a particularperspective of said venue-based activity on said display screen, inresponse to a user selection of a particular perspective of said venueactivity via said hand held device.
 8. The hand held device of claim 1wherein said entertainment venue includes at least one of a: footballstadium, soccer stadium, boxing arena, wrestling arena, car racingstadium, horse racing stadium, golf course, concert hall, casino.
 9. Asystem for receiving venue-based data at a hand held device, said systemcomprising: a server and at least one hand held device that communicateswith said server, wherein said at least one hand held device receivessaid data at said hand held device through a wireless network, said dataincluding at least one video stream of at least one visual perspectiveacquired from an entertainment venue and wherein said data is compiledby at least one venue-based data source at said entertainment venue; asecurity unit for authorizing said hand held device to receive andprocess said data utilizing said security code; a processor forprocessing said data for display on a display screen associated withsaid hand held device, in response to authorizing said hand held deviceto receive and process said data utilizing said security code; and adisplay screen associated with said display screen, wherein said displayscreen displays video of said at least one visual perspective asstreaming video via said display screen in response to a user selectionof said at least one visual perspective from said data processed fordisplay on said display screen; and a user interface associated withsaid hand held device, wherein said user selection is provided via saiduser interface.
 10. The system of claim 9 wherein said at least onevenue-based data source comprises at least one video camera inassociation with a server.
 11. The system of claim 9 wherein said datais received by said hand held device through a wireless gatewayassociated with said wireless network.
 12. The system of claim 9 whereinsaid security code is storable said security unit associated with saidhand held device.
 13. The system of claim 9 wherein said security codeis stored in a memory associated with said hand held device.
 14. Thesystem of claim 9 wherein said data includes instant replay video fromsaid at least one video perspective.
 15. The system of claim 9 whereinsaid data further comprises audio information.
 16. The system of claim16 wherein said security code comprises a temporary code which permits auser of said hand held device to access said data via said hand helddevice.
 17. The system of claim 16 wherein said user is permitted toreceive and utilize said temporary code in exchange for a fee.
 18. Thesystem of claim 16 further comprising: a display routine adapted fordisplaying a particular perspective of said venue-based activity on saiddisplay screen, in response to a user selection of a particularperspective of said venue activity via said hand held device.
 19. Thesystem of claim 16 wherein said entertainment venue includes at leastone of the following: football stadium, soccer stadium, boxing arena,wrestling arena, car racing stadium, horse racing stadium, golf course,concert hall, casino.
 20. The system of claim 16 further comprising acomputing device from which said security code is acquired.
 21. A systemfor receiving venue-based data at a hand held device, said systemcomprising: a server and at least one hand held device that communicateswith said server, wherein said at least one hand held device receivessaid data at said hand held device through a wireless network, said dataincluding at least one video stream of at least one visual perspectiveacquired from an entertainment venue and wherein said data is compiledby at least one venue-based data source at said entertainment venue,wherein said at least one venue-based data source comprises at least onevideo camera in association with a server; a security unit forauthorizing said hand held device to receive and process said datautilizing said security code; a processor for processing said data fordisplay on a display screen associated with said hand held device, inresponse to authorizing said hand held device to receive and processsaid data utilizing said security code; and a display screen associatedwith said display screen, wherein said display screen displays video ofsaid at least one visual perspective as streaming video via said displayscreen in response to a user selection of said at least one visualperspective from said data processed for display on said display screen;and a user interface associated with said hand held device, wherein saiduser selection is provided via said user interface.
 22. The system ofclaim 21 wherein said entertainment venue includes at least one of thefollowing: football stadium, soccer stadium, boxing arena, wrestlingarena, car racing stadium, horse racing stadium, golf course, concerthall, casino.